Growing Into Elderhood

What if eldering isn’t something we arrive at — but something we grow into over time?

That is the spirit of our Elderhood cohort. Leaders from different contexts gather together not to claim expertise, but to reflect on what it means to live with wisdom, humility, and attentiveness to the long arc of leadership. Elderhood, as the group is exploring it, names both a season of life and an ongoing becoming.

In this work, eldering is less about authority and more about presence. Less about holding the keys and more about staying connected — to people, to purpose, to the soul. As one member of the cohort, Leroy Barber shares, elders are not meant to be gatekeepers but connectors, sharing life, offering stability, and creating pathways for others to flourish. 

To begin the year together, the cohort slowed down. Instead of starting with goals or plans, they made space for reflection — trusting that leadership grounded in wisdom must first be grounded in honesty.

In that slowed-down space, the group was invited to reflect on a set of questions:

What do I need to release this year?

What do I need to embrace?

Who do I need to see more clearly?

How is my soul?

These are the kinds of questions that shape elderhood over time. They invite us to lead from depth rather than urgency — and to remember that our inner life is inseparable from the communities we serve.

So we extend the invitation outward. What might it look like for your congregation or community to slow down enough to ask these questions together? What kind of elderhood is quietly forming among you?